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Germany
The Germany map is, as its name implies, a map covering the present day Federal Republic of Germany. The statement Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Für das deutsche Vaterland! is a quote from the third stanza of Deutschlandlied, the German national anthem, which translates to “Unity and justice and freedom For the German fatherland!“ The map has 42 regions with 6 bonus zones. This provides a good sized map for 2-6 player games (but would generally be considered too small for 7-8 player games). The Germany map is a simple, conservative and classic-style Conquer Club map. It was originally released in April 2006 during the website’s dawn and revamped in February 2010. Mountain ranges and rivers (impassable) break up the map into the separate bonus zones. The map relies primarily on region count advantage and zone bonuses to provide an edge in each game. Consequently, being a simple, old school map - what works on Classic generally works on the Germany map. There is nothing particularly special to this map concerning assassin and terminator games or games with a fog of war or manual deployment setting, the general strategy guides on these topics may be helpful. Bonus zones Especially in no spoils games, the ratio between bonus troops and the number of defense points one has to keep in order to hold a bonus zone is a factor to be taken into account when planning one’s strategy. However, and especially with respect to bonus zones consisting of a large number of regions, other factors - such as the negative impact of conquering neutral regions (or regions held by a team mate) as well as the risk that an opponent is able to secure a region count advantage - must be taken into account. Looking at the ratio between bonus troops and the number of defense points, one can conclude that the Germany map is balanced bonus wise. Further, looking at the two more easily conquered and held bonus zones, i.e. Preussen and Baden-Württemburg (each with a +3 troop bonus), they are located on opposite sides of the map. With no bottleneck regions dividing the various parts of the map and an open centre of the map allowing for multiple assault routes between the map’s bonus zones, the Germany map provides for open games where sound tactic and a good relationship with the assault cubes can overcome a seemingly unfortunate starting-position. Spoils With the Germany map being a rather simple, straight forward old school map - what works on Classic generally works on this map. There is nothing particularly special to this map concerning no spoils, flat rate and nuclear games. Here, the map-specific points under the “Two Player” and “Team Games” sub-sections may be helpful in addition to the general strategy guides on these topics. With respect to escalating games, the only bonus zones one should attempt to hold (if any) in these games are Preussen and/or Baden-Württemburg. Sachsen-Thüringen is, with a good drop, also a potential option. As usual, it may be sensible to spread out across the map in order to increase one’s reach (i.e. to have a launching pad for assaults in different areas of the map) once the spoils sets increase in value. The Germany map has no bottleneck regions dividing the various parts of the map, rather the centre of the map is open allowing for multiple assault routes between the map’s bonus zones. There are a number of centrally located regions that borders six or more adjacent regions (Bremen, Braunschweig, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Hannover, Heibronn, Nürnberg and Würtzburg). In order to position yourself to terminate another player, it may be a good idea to conquer one or more of these regions and build troop stacks there. This should, however, be avoided if a troop stack already occupies any of these regions (as the centre of the Germany map is very open, it generally does not make sense to risk loosing too many of your own troops in order to be able to use any of these regions as a starting-point for future assaults into various parts of the map). A number of dead end regions exist: *Freiburg (blocked by Ulm). *Rosenheim (blocked by München). *Rügen (blocked by Rostock). Trapping an opponent by blocking a region may allow a player to control the destiny of that opponent once the spoils sets increase in value (or, for that matter, protect a team mate as the case may be). 1v1 In a 2 player game, each player starts with 14 regions (i.e. leaving 14 neutral regions). With this initial set-up, an early region count advantage (one player holding 17 or more regions with the other player holding 11 or less regions) may be decisive for the outcome of the game. Preventing the opponent from getting a region count advantage and/or holding any of the more accessible and more easily defended bonus zones should be an overarching priority. The most easily defended bonus zone is Preussen (with a +3 troop bonus). From the bonus zone’s two border regions (Magdeburg / Schwerin), assaults can be made relatively easily into the remaining bonus zones, with the exception of Baden-Württemburg. Should your opponent conquer Preussen, an alternative to assault into Preussen (if deemed not feasible to break your opponent’s Preussen bonus) may be to attempt to conquer Baden-Württemburg (also with a +3 troop bonus) in order to level the playing field. Under the right circumstances (taking into account the initial 14 neutral regions), it may be possible to go for and attempt to hold Sachsen-Thüringen (with four entry points). Attempting this is usually a gamble but, if successful, the +4 troop bonus generally ensures victory. The remaining bonus zones (Bayern, Norddeutschland and Rheinhessen) are rarely worth an effort in a 2 player game due to their size and likely number of neutral regions. Naturally, in a flat rate or escalating spoils game the importance of the possession of Preussen (or Baden-Württemburg) and/or a region count advantage wears off after a few rounds. However, in a no spoils game, any one of these advantages tends to be the decisive factor in the vast majority of 2 player games. Team games With respect to the basic set-up: In 4 player doubles games, each player starts with 10 regions, in triples games, each player starts with 7 regions and in quadruples games, each player starts with 5 regions. Considering the map size (42 regions), the best strategy in quadruples games is usually to target and attempt to eliminate one of the players in the opposing team (once done, one simply continues targeting the remaining opponents one by one). With respect to doubles or triples games, and irrespective of the spoils type, an early possession of the Preussen and/or the Baden-Württemburg bonus zones may be an important edge. Once conquered and held, the bonus zones should preferably be blocked as far out as possible in order to squeeze the opposing team and facilitate future assaults. As the Germany map is an open map (in the sense that the map has no regions dividing the various parts of the map), an early region count advantage (one player in the team holding 12 or more regions with the other players holding 11 or less regions) may also be decisive for the outcome of the game. Without a good initial troop drop, it is difficult to seize and hold both Preussen and Baden-Württemburg. Rather, one may decide to go for either one of them while at the same time trying to ensure that the opposing team is unable to hold the other bonus zone. Having secured either Preussen or Baden-Württemburg, a team has two basic strategies to choose from. The first choice would be to target one of the players in the opposing team (and once eliminated, continue targeting the remaining opponents one by one). The second choice would be to push the advantage by expanding out from the held bonus zone and also achieve a region count advantage in order to grind down the opposing team.